“Normally we would throw things in the appropriate bin as we go along and you don’t really notice.

Looking at this enormous heap was horrifying. We are pretty good as a family at recycling but it’s shocking to see how much can’t be recycled.”

Recycle Now says 295,000 tons of card is used in the UK over the festive season — enough to wrap Big Ben more than 250,000 times.

And the Wildlife & Countryside Link, a coalition that includes the environmental charity Friends Of The Earth and the National Trust, reckons 114,000 tons of plastic packaging that could be recycled will be binned this Christmas.

Katherine was shocked to learn that much of the glittery wrapping paper and gift tags her ­family used could NOT be recycled

Katherine was shocked to learn that much of the glittery wrapping paper and gift tags her ­family used could NOT be recycled.

Neither could the nine crackers pulled at their family gathering and the foil-embossed hats inside. Shiny gift ribbon must go in the bin too, with the 23 plastic twist-ties on her two boys’ new toys.

Katherine says: “It has really made me think. We cook most of our Christmas dinner from scratch and I tend to buy my fruit and veg loose from a greengrocer.

“Next year I will be aware of what I’m using to wrap my presents, having seen how much can’t be recycled. As for the children’s toys, I can’t tell Josh he can’t have a plastic Spider-Man toy if that’s what he really wants.

Campaigners say we will chuck out 30 per cent more rubbish this Christmas than usual

While Katherine did recycle waste including booze bottles and cans, cardboard boxes and plastic food trays, items such as the lid from her pot of cream had to be trashed. A bulging bag of Toby’s nappies will go into landfill too.

Being green isn’t always easy. Packaging often includes different components, some of which might be suitable for recycling while others are not.

For example, the plastic sticky tape often found on the necks of loaves of bread and bagged fruit cannot be recycled.

While it might not seem much, we plough through 11million loaves every day — or 125,000 miles of tape a year.

Katherine, who is married to digital marketer Ben, 37, said: “When you start to really look at the instructions on packaging, you realise how complicated it can be to recycle sometimes. I think a lot of people won’t bother breaking items down into their parts and will just throw it all in the bin because that is easier.

“Supermarkets and manufacturers need to lead the way, like the way they have with the carrier bag problem.

“For example, when you go into the supermarkets before Christmas, there are usually stands with bags of carrots, potatoes and sprouts right at the store front.